Hamlet Notes #2

Claudius is a strange character in Hamlet. At first look he seems evil but upon further reading it seems he is a victim of his own actions. While murder is most definitely inexcusable Claudius felt remorse for his actions. Claudius, though feeling sorry for himself, does not want to confess his actions. He would rather weave a web of lies and death then being killed himself. So we are left with a hypocritical dichotomy. Obviously Claudius trapped himself and continued to dig himself into a deeper hole as may would in his situation. His death is tragic in the sense that he never got a chance to repent for his actions. The play leaves us with little rectification.